Once Bitten, Twice Shy
by The Dead Masquerade
Summary: Three months have passed since Kol left Bonnie to return to New Orleans with his family but things haven't gone according to plan. Determined to stop her brother from spiraling further out of control, Rebekah insists that they need Bonnie's help. Sequel to Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice.
1. There is a House in New Orleans

When Rebekah pushed open the door to her brother's bedroom her nose immediately screwed up in disgust at the stench of sex, alcohol and stale blood that lingered in the air. He had the thick drapes pulled across the windows to prevent any source of sunlight getting into the uncomfortably stuffy room.

She sighed with annoyance and frustration when she saw her brother sprawled out on the bed with a body next to him. According to her phone calls to Elijah, this had started to become a bit of a habit for her brother in the last few months. He would drink himself stupid with alcohol and blood and finding company with whichever willing floozy he could find.

None of them managed to survive a night with Kol.

Not wanting to go any further into the room in fear that the smell would only get worse the closer she got, she grabbed the first object she could get her hands on and threw it at her brother. She watched with satisfaction as the empty liquor bottle hit him right in the stomach earning a groan from her brother.

"Just when I thought you couldn't possibly get any more disgusting," she stated and placed her hands on her hips, watching pitifully as her brother struggled to pull himself up in a sitting position.

He cast a look to the body lying next to him and casually pushed it off the bed, it hitting the floor with a thump.

"Charming," she commented flatly. "You are such a gentleman."

"What do you want, Bekah?" he asked tiredly and ran his fingers through his unruly hair.

"Well, I wouldn't object to you taking a shower," she answered as she walked over to the window and threw open the drapes to let in the afternoon rays of sun which caused her brother to wince. "I don't know which smells worse, you or the decaying body next to you which by the way I will not be cleaning up," she said and snatched an almost empty bottle of bourbon out of his hand before he could drink the rest of it. "We're supposed to be looking for our brother," she said and started to pick up the other two empty bottles from the table next to his bed. "I thought I would be able to count on you, Kol but clearly I can't.

Sometimes it was hard for her to remember if her brothers had always been such selfish creatures. Rebekah felt like she was the only one that actually wanted Elijah back. Klaus didn't care, it was him who stuck the dagger in their brother's chest and gave him to Marcel in the first place. She at least thought Kol would help her find their brother but he clearly didn't care either.

"Nik's taking care of it," he said and ran a hand down his face, willing his sister to disappear from his sight and from his hearing.

Rebekah scoffed and stepped over the body on the ground to pick up the last remaining empty bottle. "All he cares about is reclaiming our home. He'll leave Elijah in that box for another century if he has to," she picked up yet another bottle. "How much did you drink last night?"

"Some are from the other night," he said and slowly got up off the bed and grabbed a pair of jeans that were on the floor and slipped them on. He walked around to the other side and stood over the body of the girl from last night. She was a pretty one, probably early twenties with tanned skin and long, dark hair. "She was actually kind of nice, a good listener," he commented and knelt down next to her and pushed some hair back from her face.

"Then why'd you kill her?" Rebekah asked and watched her brother stand and grab the girl's arm to lift her up off the ground.

Kol shrugged and walked passed his sister and out of the room.

"Well, hurry up and get rid of her," she said and followed him down the stairs. "We need to talk about how we're going to find Elijah."

"How are we going to do that exactly?" Kol questioned his sister and walked through the kitchen towards the back door. "Marcel isn't going to tell us a bloody thing. He hates me more than anyone."

"With good reason," Rebekah muttered under her breath and dumped the empty bottles in the trash while Kol went outside to bury the bodies with the rest of the poor, unsuspecting victims Kol had lured to his bed over the past months.

"But I heard Nik mention that he has a thing for the blonde bartender at Rousseau's," Kol continued on when he came back inside and opened the fridge to get out a blood bag. "He compelled her to go on a date with Marcel."

"Why on earth would Niklaus compel Marcel a date?"

"To be his little spy," he answered. "He's compelled her to tell him anything about what Marcel does, who he talks to, where he goes."

Rebekah pursed her lips and thought for a moment, and when she managed to ignore the rising jealousy of hearing Marcel's interest in another woman, she believed that she may have just found the perfect leverage over Marcel.

"You have your scheming face on," Kol said and finished off the blood bag. "Be careful, Bekah, you know what Nik will do to you if you mess his plans up. You'll find yourself in the box next to Elijah's wherever that may be."

"Well, lucky for me I have my favourite big brother looking out for me," she replied with a candy sweet smile that had Kol arching a brow at her.

Kol gave his sister a blank look. "If I recall correctly, it wasn't too long ago that you put a dagger in my heart and took my girlfriend to an island where she was nearly killed." If Kol realised his slip he didn't show it but Rebekah sure as hell did but before she could even open her mouth to say something, Kol kept talking. "But whatever you have in stall for this bartender, count me out," he added. "I'm not getting in between you and Marcel."

"Do you have something more important to do than finding our brother?" Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her brother. "If it was you or I in that coffin and in the hands of the enemy he wouldn't rest until he found us so why are you so quick to give up on him?"

"I'm not giving up on him," Kol responded and leant against the cool metal of the fridge. "I want to find him as much as you do but aside from slaughtering every vampire in the French Quarter to do so, I'm out of ideas."

"I have an idea and if all goes to plan then Marcel will tell me exactly what I want to know."

"I like my plan better," Kol stated with an easy shrug. "I'm honestly surprised Nik hasn't killed his way back to our home."

"He doesn't just want our home back, he wants the entire empire that Marcel has built and that includes all the vampires and their loyalty and love. He can't gain that if he slaughters them all."

Kol tossed the empty blood bag in the trash. "Our brother's reach does tend to exceed his grasp. Now, I'm going to go take a shower," he said and walked out of the kitchen.

Rebekah watched her brother retreat from the kitchen with a frown on her face. The last time she had seen him act like this it earned him a dagger in the heart courtesy of both Elijah and Niklaus and Rebekah didn't want to see that happen again. He was slowly but surely losing control again. In the two days alone that she'd been here he's killed two humans and three vampires. She didn't even want to know the grand total of the months she was absent.

But unlike all the other times Kol goes on his rampages, Rebekah believed that he wasn't acting out because he wanted to or because he was enjoying it. Simply put, he missed her. It was impossible not to see it even if he tried so hard to hide it. His little slip of the tongue earlier hadn't been the first since he left Mystic Falls.

Rebekah understood why her brother felt the need to do what he did but at the same time she didn't. She'd never seen her brother love someone like he loved Bonnie; she'd never seen him happier than when he was with her. He loved her with everything and there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. She understood that he wanted to keep Bonnie safe from potential threats New Orleans could have for her, she understood that the events of what happened back in Mystic Falls when Bonnie had died had terrified him more than he would ever care to admit but she couldn't understand why he walked away, why he wouldn't at least give it a chance.

She was tired of seeing her brother like this, like a total wreck. Elijah had said that Kol followed him here to help but he's been nothing short of useless since she arrived and she had never wished for Elijah to be here more than she does now.

XXX

Kol left Rebekah in the kitchen and went back up to his room. He opened up the windows in attempt to get some fresh air throughout the room and maybe air out the stench that his sister was whining about. He ripped off the bloodstained sheets from his bed and tossed them towards the door before ridding his pants and heading to the shower.

He let the hot water wash away the dry blood that stained his skin here and there. His hair matted to his forehead under the spray so he slicked it back.

He had called her his girlfriend this morning and he had seen the flash of pity on his sister's face that made him act like he never said it in the first place. Rebekah had attempted to ask about her when she arrived a few days ago but Kol didn't say anything. Even Klaus had but he only asked once and Kol knew deep down that Klaus was only asking because he wanted Bonnie's power in New Orleans.

Elijah was the only one Kol was truthful with. He was the only one that Kol would let in and show how he really felt and as much as he hated to admit it, Elijah was the only one able to keep him in control right now. Whether he was just an ear for Kol to talk to or there to share a few words with, Elijah had been a comfort. But now he was daggered and stuck in a box somewhere they had no idea where, Rebekah could barely stand to be in the same room as Niklaus who only seems to care about regaining what he once lost while Kol spirals out of control a bit more each day.

These were the moments that he let himself feel and linger in the regret of the decision he made to walk away from her three months ago. These were the days that he allowed himself to wonder what it might have been like if she were here with him but then he thinks of Elijah and what Klaus was doing and he goes back to convincing himself that he made the right decision.

There was no need to get her all twisted up in their demented family drama. She'd only end up being a pawn in Niklaus' schemes and that wouldn't have been fair to her. She deserved a better future than one that would no doubt get her killed. He made a promise to her grandmother that he would keep her safe and if that meant that he had to stay away from her to do it then that's what he'd do.

He just wished that he could get her out of his head. The only time he isn't thinking about her is when he's killing, when he's feeding. But when the euphoric high from his kills wore off, his mind would always wander back to her. He dealt with it a little better when Elijah was around but without him, he was slowly turning back into the vampire he once was, the one that got him daggered numerous times for. The one that didn't care, the one that just wanted to kill for the sake of it and see how far he could push his brothers.

Kol turned off the shower and grabbed one of the towels hanging on the racks and wrapped it around his waist, using another to dry his hair before dropping it in the corner of the bathroom. When he walked back into his room he noticed the bloody sheets he threw at the door earlier were gone and a clean one had been fitted on his bed.

"You can talk to me, Kol, you know that," Rebekah said with a gentle tone from the door way. "I know you're still hurting."

"For someone who is always whining about how tired she is of cleaning up after us you certainly clean up after us a lot," he ignored what she said and went over to his closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and the first shirt he got his hands on.

Rebekah sighed and turned away as he got dressed. "Some habits you just can't kick, I guess."

"You don't need to hover over me, Rebekah," Kol complained when she followed him out of his room and towards the stairs. "I'm just going for some air."

"We both know that you aren't," she said quietly. "Just make sure this one doesn't stain the carpet like the last one did. I only just got the bloodstain out of the living room carpet last night."

Kol lazily waved his hand over his shoulder and made his way down the stairs.

XXX

Kol strolled into a bar that was one of the usual haunts for Marcel's nightwalkers. He took a seat up at the bar and pretended to ignore all the pairs of eyes that were glued on him. He couldn't help but smile at the nervousness that seeped into the air around him.

He flagged down the bartender and ordered himself a drink. Looking up, he did a headcount of the vampires in the bar. He frowned when he only counted seven vampires plus the four compelled humans. He had been hoping for more but he could make do with seven. He had also been hoping for vampires with spines but he lucked out there too. Not one of them had spoken let alone approached him since he walked in. The entire bar was covered with a layer of silence that pissed him off.

When the bartender placed his drink in front of him with shaky hands, Kol stared him down and the ridiculously skittish vampire all but ran back to the other side of the bar.

Kol shook his head in disappointment. This bar was clearly filled with the bottom end of Marcel's hierarchy.

"I'd have a lot more respect for you all if you actually bothered to say what you are so clearly thinking," he said and picked up his drink.

One near the back of the bar stood up and Kol smirked into his drink. He opened his mouth to say something but Kol didn't give him a chance to get a single word out before he was in front of him, hand in his chest, gripping his heart tight in his fist before he ripped it from the vampire's chest.

It sent the rest of the bar into a panic which picked his mood right up.

He grabbed the next closest vampire and threw him to the other side of the bar before grabbing the bartender who had gone straight for the door. His hand grabbed his arm tight and pulled, tearing the limb from his body before going for his heart. He then picked up a chair and broke off a leg and threw it in the direction of the vampire he threw away before, the wooden chair leg piercing his heart.

Another tried to jump him from behind but it was far too easy for Kol to overpower him and throw him to the ground. He grabbed the chair from before and slammed one of the legs into his chest, one of the others impaling his stomach. He picked up one of the sticks off the pool table and snapped it in half in his hands and stuck the ends in the guts of the two others simultaneously, slicing it up their sternums and ripped out their hearts.

He turned around to find the last remaining vampire only to see him being held up by Niklaus.

"Come to join in on the fun, brother?" Kol smirked and pushed back his hair with his bloody hand. "But I must warn you, they aren't exactly New Orleans' finest. Bit too easy for my liking."

Klaus didn't look amused at all. He swiftly snapped the neck of the vampire he was holding and let him fall to the ground. "What did I tell you, Kol?"

Kol shrugged and wandered towards the bar to grab a bottle of bourbon. "I'll admit, brother, I tend to zone out when you talk now."

"Well, let me remind you," Klaus all but growled as he stalked over to where the compelled humans were huddling behind a table. "I told you that I need to gain Marcel's trust if I am to reclaim our home," he reminded Kol and broke the necks of all four of them before turning back to Kol. "And I can't do that when my siblings are running around slaughtering his vampires like sheep."

Kol walked over to one of the bodies and nudged it with his boot. "I can't imagine anyone missing these ones, bottom of the barrel if you ask me."

"Yes well, Marcel has this inane sense of responsibility for them and gets a tad upset when they die, now please, let's go," he said and walked over to the only living vampire in the group and tossed him over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Kol asked and followed his brother out of the bar, taking a long pull of the bourbon. "Just leave him."

"I have a better idea," Klaus said, crossing the road to where his car was parked and dumped the vampire in the trunk. "We drain him of vervain and send him back to Marcel, compelled. Now get in the car."

"How'd you even know I was here?" Kol questioned and opened the car door.

"Believe it or not, Kol but you're not exactly the hardest vampire to track down," Klaus answered and started up the car. "And you've been quite predictable lately."

Kol mumbled under his breath and took another drink while silence fell over the two brothers and while Kol was quite content with it, Klaus was not. Kol was certain his hybrid brother just loved the sound of his own voice.

"I know you're not pleased with what I've done to Elijah but -"

Kol cut him off by waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "I really do not care for your reasoning's, Niklaus. You put a dagger in our brother's heart and handed him over to Marcel like he meant nothing. There is no reason that you could possibly give me that could make me understand that."

"Your actions aren't making the situation any better," Klaus growled out and gripped the steering wheel tighter. "You have always put Marcel on edge."

Kol turned to glare at his brother, an icy stare that Klaus refused to meet. "I don't care if I have to kill every human, vampire and witch in this city to get Elijah back. I don't care if I have to burn this city to the ground, I'll do it."

"If you're not careful, you might join him," Klaus responded to his brother's threats with bite.

Kol gave a low and spiteful laugh. "I invite you to try it. I've got nothing to lose and a break from my bastard brother might do me a world of good."

Klaus sighed and let his head fall back against the headrest. "This is all because of her, isn't it?" the hybrid questioned.

Kol growled, a low rumbling in his chest that told Klaus to shut the hell up but of course his brother was never one to listen to a warning.

"I know you miss her and I understand that Elijah had been somewhat of a support for you-"

"Don't," Kol cut him off with another growl. "Don't suddenly start acting like you care."

"I do care, Kol," Klaus replied, his tone softening just a bit but Kol didn't allow himself to be fooled by it. "I know I don't always show it in the best of ways if at all but I do."

"If you want to show that you care then get Elijah back," Kol said to him. "For all our sakes because you need him just as much as Rebekah and I do."

"Then we need to form a plan," Klaus said, his mind starting to tick over potential ideas. "Marcel won't just hand him over."

"My offer to burn this city to the ground is still on the table," Kol replied and held the bottle out to his brother, his own version of a peace offering. "You might have some sentimental attachment to Marcel but I sure as hell do not. I could torture him into giving our home back if you'd like. It would give me great pleasure."

"Marcel stole what we built and took it for his own," Klaus took the bourbon from his brother and took a drink of it before handing it back. "Taking it back will be far sweeter with him alive than dead."

XXX

As to be expected early the next morning Klaus received a phone call from a very furious Marcel.

"Hello, Marcel," he answered the phone with a devilish grin.

"Heard your brother went on another rampage last night," Marcel said. "I'm at a bar owned by one of my nightwalkers and it looks like a slaughterhouse. I got six dead vampires and four dead humans."

"And you just assume that is was my dear brother's doing?" Klaus asked, feigning offence while grinned into the phone. "Marcel, I thought we were past this."

"I got a guy who saw your brother go into the bar and I know it was Kol because I know him and what I see in here has that maniac written all over it," he told him and Klaus heard bottles smashing in the background. "I thought you said you'd keep your siblings in line."

"No, I said I'd have a better chance draining the Mississippi with a straw," he corrected his favourite sire. "Short of sticking them with a dagger, controlling my siblings is next to impossible."

"Look, Klaus, I'm happy you're here, really, I am. But your brother has taken out twenty of my guys since he got here and the rest of them are on edge," he tried to get through to Klaus. "Not to mention all the locals that have mysteriously gone missing since he arrived and the incident at that restaurant not a week after he got here. I don't care if you have stick a dagger in his heart, do it. You've done it before. I've seen you do it him twice already."

"He'll calm down," Klaus told his former protégé. "He's still sore that I stuck him in a box after his directorial debut. I'm sure you still remember that evening."

"Yeah and that's why I'm worried about him being here for too long."

"Nonsense," Klaus shook off Marcel's concerns. "He'll be fine and if it continues his coffin is ready and waiting I assure you." He caught the pencil Rebekah threw at his head with ease. "I'll talk you to later, Marcel, Rebekah is demanding my attention and you know how difficult she gets when ignored."

"Don't you even think about it, Niklaus," Rebekah sneered at her brother when Klaus ended the call with Marcel. "Not after I just told you of Marcel's witch. You can't hand Kol over to them, too."

"Calm down, sister it won't come to that," Klaus assured her and dropped his phone on his desk. "I made a promise to get Elijah back and I intend to keep that promise."

Rebekah's brow furrowed. "You never promised."

"Not to you, to Kol. Last night," he said and sat on the office chair and rolled his eyes at his sister's expression. "Honestly, Rebekah, you don't need to look so surprised. And to be truthful, it's less about Elijah and more of not wanting a repeat of the last time Kol was in New Orleans. He racked up quite the body count, even I was impressed."

"Speaking of our brother, where is he?" Rebekah asked and pushed herself up off the couch. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"He's teaching young Joshua the art of draining vervain from a vampire, why?"

"Because I may have a solution, to both our problems and he will not like it so it's best not to discuss it while he is around."

A smirked formed on Klaus' face. There was only one topic that Kol had refused to be talked about between them all. "Bonnie Bennett," Klaus grinned wolfishly. "Now she would be a much needed addition around here."

"And not just for her magic," Rebekah added and walked over to where Klaus kept his alcohol. "If she is here then he'll behave himself and you can stop with the dagger threats. Plus, it would be nice to have someone we can trust in this town."

"Do you think you'll be able to pull her away from Mystic Falls?" Klaus asked and leant back in his chair, lacing his fingers together over his chest.

"She no longer resides in Mystic Falls," Rebekah told him and poured herself and Klaus a drink. "After Kol left, Lucy took her to meet the rest of the Bennett family up near Salem somewhere. She's been living there ever since. But as for convincing her to come here, well that may be easier said than done. Last I saw of her she was heartbroken."

"Just tug on those heartstrings of hers, she'll come eventually," Klaus said, smirk still in place. "Witches in distress and being terrorised by vampires and Kol's evil bastard brother who is planning to stick a dagger in his heart, she won't be able to stay away."

"Want to bet?" Rebekah argued and leant on the doorframe after handing Klaus his drink. "Kol broke her heart. Having a dagger in his might perk her up a bit." Rebekah didn't want to lie to Bonnie and she didn't want to use guilt or manipulation to force her to help them.

'"I speak from experience when I say Bonnie has always responded well to threats against her loved ones and lucky for us, it seems she's found a lot more of them," Klaus offered her a suggestion and smiled when he was met with Rebekah's glare.

"Leave her be, Nik. I'm just going to talk to her and if she doesn't want to come here then fine, we'll just have to make do with Sophie Deveraux and her coven of incompetence."

"That would be unfortunate," Klaus said and rolled his tongue over his teeth. "Try bribery."

XXX

Bonnie almost let her phone ring out before she mustered up the courage to pick it up and answer it. She had been more than a bit surprised to see Rebekah's name flash on the screen. The last time she had spoken to Rebekah was when she returned home after spending a few weeks in Europe with her and Matt. It was also supposed to be the last time because according to Rebekah, _he_ wanted her to have an Original free life.

"Hello?" she said and waited for the Original's reply, almost dreading it.

"Bonnie," Rebekah said her name like a sigh of relief which confirmed that Bonnie wasn't going to like what she was calling for. "I wasn't sure if maybe you had changed your number since we last spoke."

"For a while I thought about it," she admitted with a small but forced laugh.

She decided against it because as much as she wanted to be left alone after Kol walked away from her and Lucy took her away from Mystic Falls, she didn't want to abandon her friends in case they needed her. And maybe deep down she had hoped that she would get a call from an Original vampire one day, just not the one who had ended up contacting her.

"How have you been?" the blonde asked with a sincerity that Bonnie appreciated. Bonnie had been a wreck when Rebekah first approached her after Kol walked away and the time away with Rebekah and Matt had done her the world of good. She hadn't been so miserable when she returned.

Bonnie took in a breath before she took a seat on the edge of her bed. "Fine, I guess," she answered. "I'm assuming things aren't going all that great on your end."

Rebekah was silent on the other line but Bonnie could still hear all kinds of commotion in the background. "You could say that," she said. "Niklaus is a traitorous bastard but I'm sure you were already aware of that."

Bonnie made a sound of agreement. "So you're in New Orleans? I thought you wanted nothing to do with the place."

"I didn't but about two weeks ago I stopped hearing from Elijah and couldn't get a hold of him and it took Kol a week to call and tell me that Niklaus had once again stuffed our brother in a box," Bonnie could almost feel Rebekah's anger and frustration through the phone. "So now here I am and everything is a total mess and is getting worse by the day."

"Why did it take so long for him to call you?" Bonnie wondered as that didn't seem like Kol.

"Now that is a different story all together. I honestly don't even think Kol had even noticed he's been that out of it lately," Rebekah answered, the blonde so frustrated that she started rambling. "I've got one brother stuck in a coffin somewhere I can't get to him, another hell bent on taking back what he thinks was stolen from him by any means necessary and the other spiralling out of control a bit more every day."

Bonnie bit her tongue to stop herself from asking what was wrong with Kol. He wasn't her concern anymore; she just needed to keep reminding herself that.

"Why don't you just get out of there and leave them to sort their own crap out?" Bonnie asked her. "Just because they are your brothers doesn't mean they are your responsibility. You don't have to put your life on hold for them."

She heard Rebekah sigh. "Believe me, Bonnie, if Elijah didn't have a dagger in his heart I'd be nowhere near this hell hole but he does and I can't leave him. I'm not going to let Nik take any more years from Elijah or any of us if I can help it."

"I take it you're ringing me to help you find where Klaus put him."

"I know where he is, or at least I knew where he was," she started and Bonnie waited for her to elaborate. "Nik gave Elijah to Marcel who has a witch, a very powerful one, and she wiped my memories of the location after throwing me out of a window. The little bitch."

"Isn't New Orleans full of other witches that can help you?"

"All the witches here have been neutered. If they use magic Marcel's witch will sense it and that witch will be killed so they cower in their little sanctuary and plot but don't seem to actually do anything," she explained to her. "And to be honest, I wouldn't trust any of them even if my life depended on it."

"So, you want a witch on your side who you know and trust," Bonnie guessed and Rebekah's silence gave her answer. "You've been around for a thousand years and you don't have any other witch you can trust?"

"None that have power over Kol like you do," she said and Bonnie jumped to her feet.

"Forget it, Rebekah," Bonnie immediately shut her down. "I've already gone through this once before, remember? I have no desire to do it all over again," she said remembering back to when the Salvatore's thought it would be a fantastic idea to use Kol's interest in her to their advantage.

"That is not what I am asking; believe me I don't want to hurt my brother any more than he already is. All I'm saying is that your presence alone will be enough for him to behave himself otherwise he's going to end up in the coffin next to Elijah."

Bonnie sighed and ran a hand through her newly short hair before resting it on her hip. She didn't know what to do. Part of her was jumping to know Kol clearly still missed her but the other part of her wanted to stay far away from him, wanted to move on from him for good.

"Bonnie, I'm not going to force you to come here," Rebekah said and Bonnie could tell that she was moving to a more quiet location to continue their conversation. "I'm only asking and if you choose to say no, it's completely okay. It's up to you."

"Are force and emotional manipulation not the same thing?"

"I'm not trying to manipulate you, Bonnie. I'm just telling you the truth," Rebekah assured her. "I remember seeing you after Kol left, you were broken and even after meeting the rest of your family and coming to Europe with Matt and I, you still felt that heartache."

Bonnie nearly laughed. "It had only been two months, Bekah of course I was still going to be hurting. Having fun in Europe wasn't going to suddenly fix me and going to New Orleans just to make Kol clean his act up sure as hell isn't going to work."

"I don't want it to work, I want it to snap my brother out of his moronic state and make him admit that he made a mistake when he chose Niklaus over you," Rebekah said and before Bonnie could object to that she continued. "Like I said, I saw how much you were hurting and Kol is hurting just as much, if not more only now it's showing because he no longer has Elijah to help him through it."

"Rebekah…"

"Okay, if you don't want to come here for Kol, how about for me?" Bonnie felt like she could actually see the smile on the Original's face. "I need a kickass witch on my side and it'd be even better if that witch was a friend. You and I would make a great team. Maybe we could take over the city for ourselves."

Bonnie found herself laughing, a real one for once. "That would really piss Klaus off."

"My new purpose in life, I believe."

"I'm not saying yes but I guess I'm not saying no either," Bonnie said, mulling over what Rebekah was saying. "Can I think about it?"

"Of course you can," Rebekah said, satisfied that she hadn't said no outright and was at least taking the time to consider it. "I'll wait for your call."

Bonnie said a quick goodbye to Rebekah and ended the call. She let out a heavy breath and dropped her phone on the bed before sitting back down with her head in her hands. She didn't know what to do. It was something that was completely her choice. She had no obligation to go and help them, it was up to her and yet she had no clue what she wanted.

On one hand it sounded like an okay idea. She'd get to see New Orleans, a place she'd always wanted to go to (even if it was in a supernatural state of disarray) and would see Rebekah again. But on the other hand, there was Klaus. There were vampires with a hatred for witches and apparently a powerful witch who shared in that hatred.

Then there was Kol. Bonnie honestly did not know if being in the same city as him would be a good or a bad thing. It was only recently that she had started to finally feel like she was going to be okay, that the pain was starting to pass and she could see the light at the end of the tunnel and could move on. She didn't want to risk moving backwards. Not when she had her own future to think about now.

She contemplated calling Lucy to ask what she thought of it all but decided not to disturb her while she was away. Her cousin deserved a break after all the crap that had happened back at Mystic Falls. Bonnie then figured that if she couldn't talk to Lucy, then maybe talking to Joanna would be the next best thing. Joanna always had a way of getting people to open up to her; she was so much like Grams which wasn't too surprising considering she was Grams' eldest daughter.

She picked herself up and headed down stairs to the kitchen, just in time to see her aunt pull a tray out of the oven and place it on top of the stove to cool down for a bit. The older woman looked up and smiled when she saw Bonnie take a seat on one of the stools near the kitchen counter.

"What's with the mountain of cupcakes?" Bonnie asked as she looked around the kitchen to see two large wire racks full of cupcakes plus the two large trays she just pulled out of the oven.

"Kendra and Allison have that fundraiser for their school tomorrow plus showing off that newly renovated stage area," she said and pulled out another rack from the cabinet near the oven and set it down where she could find some free space. "And while Evelyn has many talents, cooking isn't one of them," she added with a laugh. "If it wasn't for James I swear those girls would be over here every night for dinner."

Bonnie let out a small laugh and accepted the cupcake her aunt handed her.

"You're coming to the fundraiser, right?" Joanna asked and placed another tray of cupcake batter into the oven.

Bonnie nodded and picked at the cupcake, not having much of an appetite after her phone call. "Yeah, Kendra wants to show off that guy she's into."

Joanna chuckled and went about cleaning up the bowl stained with cake batter. "Of course she does. I wonder if that's the same boy she was rattling on about last month. She has so many crushes it's hard to keep track of them."

"She says he's the same one but Allison is trying to tell her that he isn't, apparently he's the best friend of the old crush."

"That sounds about right," Joanna shook her head and placed the bowl in the dishwasher. Turning back around to grab the smaller bowl, she noticed Bonnie staring into the cupcake absentmindedly. "You okay, honey? You look a little off," Joanna asked as she closed the dishwasher after putting the other bowl in it. "Is it about that call you just got? I heard you talking upstairs when I went up to grab my phone."

Bonnie sighed and put the uneaten cupcake on the counter. "You remember that girl I went to meet up with in London?"

Joanna nodded. "The Original vampire, Rebekah, I think you said her name was."

"Yeah, well that was her on the phone."

She heard her aunt sigh and leant against the other side of the counter. "Let me guess, vampire drama and they want a witch to get them out of it?"

"More of a just in case but it's not just magic they want help with," Bonnie said and looked down at her hands. "Rebekah spoke about Kol. She told me that he's not doing so well. That Klaus is close to putting a dagger in his chest."

Joanna remained silent but Bonnie could tell that there was something running through her mind.

"I know he's not my concern or responsibility," she continued. "But he doesn't deserve that."

"There has got to be more to it than just a case of him needing to be put on a leash," Joanna said. "I am aware of what is going on in New Orleans. Katrina visited not long ago; she wasn't there a day before she left. She didn't like how many vampires were there. I don't know the full story but I know it's not great there right now for a witch."

Bonnie nodded her head. "That's the other reason Rebekah wants me there. Apparently the witches there can't do magic and if they do they are caught and killed by the vampires," Bonnie told Joanna the brief explanation she got from the Original. "Rebekah said something about a witch being on the side of the vampires and could sense whenever the witches do magic. I don't know what good I would be if they have a witch who senses magic."

"Like I said, I don't know much about what is going on but I do know that the witches in New Orleans practice Ancestral magic," Joanna told her. "So I would assume that this witch can probably only sense Ancestral magic. It's not like Spirit or Expression. That is why they would want you there."

"How does Ancestral differ from Spirit magic?" Bonnie asked her aunt curiously. They both sounded very similar.

"Witches who practice Ancestral magic get their power from the ancestors that they have consecrated into the earth. Their magic is fuelled by their ancestors. It's very powerful but it also has limits. They cannot access their magic outside where the bones have been consecrated, not even Traditional magic," Joanna explained to her. "So you with your Expression plus your access to Spirit magic, you'd be pretty damn useful to the Originals right about now. What do they want there, anyway?"

"They used to live there or something like that and Klaus is obsessed with getting it back."

"Are you thinking about going?" There wasn't any judgment in her aunt's voice, just curiosity.

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she answered with a sigh. "I told Rebekah that I'd think it over but I really don't know. I kind of want to know what you think of it, if I should go or not."

"Are you worried about going because you don't want to get involved in a war or because you don't want to risk seeing a certain someone and getting your heart broken again?"

"Are you asking me if Kol wasn't a factor would I go?" she looked to Joanna who shrugged. "Maybe," Bonnie said. "I have all this power, I still have Expression. What's the point of having it all if I don't use it? At least in New Orleans, I could do something with it. Maybe I could help the witches or something."

"Okay, so we've taken Kol out of the equation and decided that you'd probably go," Joanna said and went to take the last of the cupcakes out of the oven. "Now let's throw his ass back in. Would you still go?"

"Rebekah said that me just being there would be enough for him to pull his act together," Bonnie relayed what her friend had said. "But I don't know how I feel about that. I don't want to go if all I'm going to be doing is being Kol's babysitter, to make sure he doesn't push Klaus too far."

"Fair enough," Joanna agreed. "What's your relationship like with the Originals, anyway? You don't speak much of them and they seem rather fond of you so I'm curious. I know that our families go way back to the beginning but none of us have met them except for you and Lucy and well," she looked down and her voice softened, "…Abby but that didn't end well for her."

"Grams, too," Bonnie added softly. "Klaus mentioned to me a while back that he knew her, back in the seventies. He said he liked her."

"Huh," Joanna mused with a hint of a smile. "I didn't know that about my mother. She never mentioned that she met the Originals but I guess that explains why she had a lot of knowledge on them."

"So you know that Ayana was our ancestor and Esther's closest friend and mentor?" Bonnie asked and her aunt nodded.

"That, I did know. I also know that Ayana had no part in making them vampires which I take great comfort in."

"Then I won't tell you about Qetsiyah," Bonnie mumbled. Ayana might not have had a part in making the Originals what they were today but the immortality spell already existed thanks to their other ancestor, Qetsiyah.

"Well, now, you have to, but in a bit. First I want to hear about your ties to the Originals."

Bonnie chewed at the inside of her cheek, thinking back to the first time she met an Originals vampire. She knew of Elijah but she had yet to meet him when she found herself facing Klaus in Alaric's body.

"I met Klaus first and ever since then we just seem to go back and forth with trying to kill each other," she said and found herself smiling for some reason. "There were times that we got along but mostly we didn't."

"That seems to be the way with most vampires and witches these days," Joanna smirked.

"Then there was Elijah who I didn't particularly like. I thought he was a double crossing bastard but I suppose my time with Kol and the Original family changed my views on all of them because I do like Elijah and it sucks hearing what Klaus has done to him."

Bonnie didn't mention anything about Elijah's relationship with Lucy, not sure if her cousin had shared that bit of information with her mother.

"I didn't have much to do with Rebekah until I started spending more time with Kol. The thing about Rebekah is that she is incredibly misunderstood. For a thousand years Klaus has lied to her and tried to control her and all she really wants is just to settle down somewhere, have a somewhat normal life."

During her time away with Rebekah and Matt, Rebekah opened up a lot to Bonnie in hopes that she would do the same. Rebekah told her that she wished she lived and died back when she was human, that she'd do anything for a chance at a normal existence away from Klaus.

"I never had much to do with Finn at all," Bonnie continued. "He had been kept daggered for nine hundred years and he hated what he was so he kept to himself mostly. He and Esther were the ones that planned to destroy the Originals. The plan was to link them all together and then for Finn to sacrifice himself which would kill the rest of them. In the end he was killed by Elena and Matt."

"And now we get to the one I really want to hear about," her aunt grinned. "Lucy told me a bit about you and Kol," Joanna said and came around the counter to sit on the stool next to her. "She told me you were forced to get close to him in hopes of turning him against the others or something."

"I wasn't forced," she objected to the term used. "And while it wasn't my idea and I didn't want to do it, I agreed anyway."

"And somewhere along the way you developed some pretty strong feelings for him and him for you."

"I didn't realise how strongly I felt for him until it was too late," she said and started to twist her ring around her finger. "I was in love with him before I knew it. I had never felt anything like I did when I was him."

Looking back, Bonnie can now see that somewhere along the way back in Mystic Falls she stopped seeing her own worth as an actual person and started to only see her worth as a witch. It was Kol that made her see that she was worth more than what she could do for people.

"And you're still in love with him. And you miss him," Joanna said quietly. "Which is why you don't want to go because if you do, one of two things will happen; you'll get back together or you won't and you don't know which one you want yet." Bonnie remained quiet so Joanna continued. "You want to move on from him as much as you don't want to so I think seeing him again would be a good thing because it'll show you which one you want."

Bonnie sighed then shook her head at her aunt. "It doesn't matter what I want. He's the one that left. He's the one that didn't want me there."

"Then don't go there for him. Rebekah is the one who called you. She's the one who wants you there. Ignore him if you have to, make him grovel," her aunt smirked with a playful wickedness that made Bonnie smile.

"So you think I should go?"

"I think you should do what you think is best for you," Joanna told her and reached to place a hand on her shoulder. "I have faith that you'll be okay there and if something does happen to you, we'll be there to raise a little hell on all of them. But if you are still not sure then I say sleep on it and decide tomorrow. No need to decide right now. Hell, take a week to decide if you need."

Bonnie let out a sigh then nodded.

"Great," Joanna clapped her hands together and got up off the stool. "Now that is somewhat settled, you want to help me with the icing and maybe tell me about this Qetsiyah who believe it not I did not know was our ancestor?"

XXX

The next day at the fundraiser Bonnie was approached by Katrina while she watched on in pity as Kendra came down with a case of the rambles in front of the guy she liked.

"God, she can be so awkward sometimes," Katrina laughed as she eyed her younger cousin. "I don't even want to know what she's saying to him right now."

"By the look on his face, nothing good," Bonnie couldn't help but laugh as well. She looked over to find Allison shaking her head in shame at her twin.

"Aunt Jo told me you might be heading to the French Quarter," Katrina said and moved her sun glasses to the top of her head. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this but if you do go, you need to be careful. The place is full of vampires."

"I don't know if I'm going to go," Bonnie replied and shoved her hands into her pocket. "I haven't decided yet but the more I think about it, the more I feel like I want to go."

"Then go," Katrina encouraged. "It's not like once you get there you can never leave. If you don't like it then there's nothing stopping you coming back home."

"I guess you're right," she pondered what Katrina had said and decided that she was right. If she went she could always come back if she found that it wasn't a good idea.

"Of course I am," Kat said and smirked over at Kendra who was being dragged along by Allison. "I'd go with you if I didn't have to go back to college in a few days but maybe if you're still there on break I can come and visit."

"You'd go back there?" Bonnie asked and Katrina nodded.

"It's not somewhere I'd want to be on my own."

"Thanks a lot Alli!" the two of them heard the sixteen year old cry at out her sister. "You embarrassed me!"

"Oh honey, you were doing that all on your own," Kat piped up when they were close enough. "How is it that you managed to forget every pointer I gave you but remembered the ones I told you not to do?"

"I was nervous!" Kendra huffed. "I swear if he asked my name I wouldn't have been able to answer. It's the eyes!"

"He does have nice eyes," Allison agreed with her twin.

Bonnie excused herself from the three of them and walked towards the large tree in a more secluded part of the area and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She took her time scrolling through her list of contacts until she got to the R's and her finger hovered over Rebekah's name and number. She pressed the call button before she could talk herself out of it and held the phone to her ear and waited for the Original to pick up.

"Hey, Bonnie," Rebekah greeted her, voice hopeful.

"Hey," she replied and rubbed the back of her neck, hoping she wasn't about to make a huge mistake. "How soon do you need me there?"

**XXX**

**AAAAAAAAAAAND WE'RE BACK!**

**I hope you're all as excited as I am for this sequel. So much potential with New Orleans and the witches and Bonnie! Can't wait!**

**I also hope you didn't find this chapter too boring but the family relationships are just as important as the romantic ones in this fic. The Bennett family will be explored so this will not be the last you see of them. I have big plans for them1**

**Now, I wrote pretty much all of it before **_**Alive and Kicking**_** aired but I added a few references from that episode in while editing. The directorial debut was Kol's re-enactment of Hamlet with young Marcel.**

**The next chapter will be up soon and I do mean soon. I know I haven't been the best when it comes to updating but I'm aiming for weekly updates if I can keep this rhythm up. I have chapter two already written and ready for editing and I'm about to start chapter three. I plan to have the next chapter written or almost done and waiting before I update with a new chapter.**

**Also, any mistakes you'll find in this I apologise for and please review and let me know what you think! Again, I really hope you liked it!**

**XXX**


	2. Disrupting the Empire

At his brother's request Kol was tapping on the front door to Rousseau's the next morning and we he realised that Sophie wasn't about to open the door for him, he simply broke the handle and let himself in much to the witch's dismay.

"I'm getting real sick of you Mikaelson's forcing your way around here," she said from the kitchen area and clutched the handle of the knife she was using to chop vegetables tight enough that her knuckles were turning white. Partly out of annoyance of his presence and partly to use it as a weapon if need be, not that it do much good but she imagined a knife to the eye would hurt like a bitch.

"I knocked, you ignored me. What was I supposed to do?" Kol replied and helped himself to a glass of whatever he got his hands on first.

"What do you want anyway?" she questioned and sent the Original vampire a glare as he leant on the pushed back doors to the kitchen area, out of the four of them, Kol was most definitely her least favourite. "If you can't tell, I'm busy."

"Not anymore, you're not," he said crossed his legs at the ankles. "My brother wants you and I've been instructed to use force if necessary."

Sophie let out a frustrated breath and dropped the knife on the table before she turned to him with her arms folded across her chest. "Tell your brother that he can go to hell," she growled at him. "He's been nothing but a pain in my ass since he got here."

"Well that's your fault now isn't it?" he accused and raised the glass to his lips. "You and your sister are the ones who brought him here which in turn brought the rest of us here. You reap what you sow, darling."

Sophie turned away from the Original, muttering some about if that being true then he and the rest of his kind would have gotten theirs by now causing Kol to roll his eyes at the witch and her moral standing.

"My brother wants information on Marcel, that's all," Kol told her and pushed off the door frame and moved over to the table to sit on the edge.

"Do you mind?" Sophie huffed and moved the food away from him. "What can I tell Klaus about Marcel that he wouldn't already know? He sired him, didn't he?"

"Not so much on Marcel," Kol clarified and swung his legs over the edge of the table. "But more on the vampires he surrounds himself with."

"Tell your brother that I'm not interested," Sophie replied and put her focus back on preparing the food for the restaurant.

"Well then, can I interest you in an angry little witch Marcel so cruelly keeps hidden away from the world?" Kol asked and watched with a smirk as Sophie's expression changed from one of annoyance to one of keen interest and shock. "Davina, I believe Rebekah said her name was."

"Davina? Your sister saw Davina?" Sophie questioned and Kol nodded his head. "Where did she see her?"

"Oh no," Kol wiggled his finger at her. "If you want information on your fellow witch then you need to come with me to get it."

Sophie let out a heavy sigh, her frustration making reappearance. "Because of course nothing comes free with you vampires."

"You want information on this Davina girl and you'll get it so long as you give us what we want."

After a long moment of consideration, Sophie caved and nodded her head at the Original vampire. "Fine, but I'll make my own way there. I'm over being manhandled by vampires."

"Fair enough," Kol said and jumped down from the table. "I'll have my sister text you the address. Be there by noon or I will come and get you myself."

His tone held no room for negotiation and Sophie was no fool. She knew that she either goes there on her own accord or he drags her there kicking and screaming and will possibly end up losing a good chunk of her neck.

"Looking forward to it," she grumbled sarcastically and glared daggers at the Original as he walked out of the kitchen and towards the front door, placing the glass on the bar as he walked passed. "Asshole," she spat when he left Rousseau's, the door closing behind him.

XXX

Katrina was lounging around on Bonnie's bed while she filled two bags with what she thought she would need during her stay in New Orleans. Her grimoire was definitely on the top priority list.

"Have you told Lucy that you're going to New Orleans yet?" Katrina asked her while Bonnie pulled out her grimoire and placed it on top of the suitcase.

Bonnie shook her head and nearly scoffed. She knew Lucy wouldn't be happy with her going to New Orleans especially at the request of an Original vampire and Bonnie didn't particularly feel like being chewed out by her cousin. "I think I'm going to hold off on doing that," she said. "At least until I get there. I don't want her to worry and she will. I also don't want her to yell at me."

"Probably for the best," she said and leant forward to grab Bonnie's grimoire from her bag. "You'd hear her scream from here," she added with an amused smile and started to flip through the tattered pages of the old spell book. "Did this really belong to Emily Bennett? I was told that it was lost after she was killed."

Bonnie nodded and neatly packed away the few pairs of jeans on the bottom of her suitcase. She thought it best not pack a lot of stuff, just keep it to the essentials mostly. She figured if she decided to stay in New Orleans any longer she could just buy stuff there. "Yeah, Elena and Stefan found it buried with his father."

"Like with him in his coffin?" The look on Katrina's face matched how Bonnie felt about it when she found out. Emily was burnt alive at the stake by the founding families along with ninety nine other witches and they had the audacity to steal her grimoire and bury it with one of the founding members. Or maybe the look on her face was the disgust was of holding a book that was buried with a corpse for over a hundred years. "That's gross," she stated but continued to flip the through pages.

"Are you sure you don't mind taking me to the airport?" Bonnie asked, wanting to make sure with her cousin while choosing some tops out of the wardrobe. "I can drive myself."

"I don't mind. I wouldn't have offered if I did," Katrina answered, her eyebrows raised in interest as she read over a spell that caught her eye. "Have you tried all these spells?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Not all of them," she said. "Honestly I felt no need to do most of them." Then when she gained Expression she really had no need for the grimoire anyway but she was still trying to get back into the good graces of the Spirits so she thought she'd start using more Traditional magic and Expression only when necessary.

Katrina replied with a scoff and looked at Bonnie like she was crazy. "You being a witch is reason enough to try them."

"Is that the reason why Evelyn refuses to let Allison and Kendra near a grimoire unsupervised?" Bonnie laughed.

"That's different," Katrina refuted with a smile. "Those two still think being a witch is like some kind of game. They haven't quite grasped the severity of it like the rest of us have."

Bonnie believed what Katrina said. When she first discovered she was a witch (and after the initial shock wore off) she thought it was a bit of game but the things happening around her proved her to wrong. It wasn't until Grams had died that Bonnie started to take being a witch seriously but she never stopped pushing the limits of what she could do. Meeting the other witches of her family had taught her that she still had much to learn about witchcraft.

The door to her bedroom was pushed opened and Allison and Kendra appeared.

"Huh, I thought you had to say the witch twin's names three times before they appeared," Katrina joked when the twins walked into the room.

"Mum said we could go to the airport with you and Trina," Allison said and threw herself down on the end of the bed, just narrowly missing the small pile of folded tops.

"Wish you weren't going at all, though," Kendra voiced from her seat on the chair behind Bonnie. "Or preferably that you'd let me come with you."

Allison let out a scoff and raised her head to look at her sister. "You wouldn't last an hour around a vampire, Kendra."

"And there is no way in Hell that I would take you to a place full of them," Bonnie added and cast a glance over her shoulder to the younger witch. "It would be far too dangerous there for you."

Joanna had once told Bonnie that Kendra was the type to seek adventure and trouble and more often than not she found it but what concerned Evelyn the most was Kendra's interest in vampires despite only ever meeting two of them, those two being Elena and Caroline when they had come to visit Bonnie two weeks ago and that had only fuelled the young witch's interest. She had tried to get both girls to show her their fangs and continuously pestered them both until Caroline finally gave in and showed the young witch what she wanted to see. It both terrified and excited the young witch.

"The vampires in New Orleans and everywhere else aren't like Bonnie's friends, K," Katrina said and tore her eyes away from the grimoire to look at her cousin. "Most are soulless monsters that you should hope to never encounter."

Katrina admitted to Bonnie that Caroline and Elena had been the first friendly vampires she'd ever encountered and that she was beginning to doubt that vampires with humanity even existed. When she first arrived, Katrina couldn't for the life of her understand why Bonnie had been with an Original vampire.

"Fine," Kendra drew out the word with a sigh and placed her chin on her arms she folded on the back of the chair. "But you're coming back right?"

"Of course," Bonnie said and packed away her tops. "I doubt I'll be there long anyway."

"Good, cause you still owe Allie and I those lessons you promised," she replied, reminding Bonnie of her promise to teach them a few things from Emily's grimoire.

The twins were still relatively new to magic, Evelyn having made the decision to bind their active magic until they turned sixteen which was only months ago. She and her husband wanted the twins to have a somewhat normal childhood without the burden of magic and the issues on control but they always knew what they would eventually become.

"And I still have every intention of doing so," Bonnie assured both the twins.

"Just make sure none of those spells have to do with fire," Katrina warned with a light laugh, remembering back to when she had once tried to teach the twins a spell. "That will not end well. My eyebrows have only just grown back."

"Or maybe you were just a bad teacher," Allison grinned at Katrina who in turn threw a pillow at her head. Allison also snatched up the grimoire when Katrina placed it on Bonnie's bag.

Kendra followed Bonnie when she wandered across the hall to the bathroom to get her already packed bag of toiletries and make up.

"So you are coming back?" Kendra said, standing in the doorway of the bathroom while Bonnie collected her things.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Kendra gave a small shrug of her shoulders and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "You have a history with the Originals. I just don't want you to forget about us when you get there."

"Impossible," Bonnie assured her with a smile. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

When Bonnie first arrived in Fairhaven she was miserable, heartbroken and no matter how hard she tried to conceal it with the happiness of meeting her family (and she was happy to meet them) it just didn't fill the emptiness she felt inside of her after he walked away from her and it was Kendra who got under her skin in a charmingly obnoxious way and refused to leave her alone until she told the younger Bennett everything she wanted to know.

She reminded Bonnie a bit of Caroline in that sense.

"Good," Kendra returned the smile. "I'll just miss you is all," she admitted sheepishly and pushed her hair back behind her ear.

"I'll be back before you know it," she said and touched her cousin's shoulder as she walked out of the bathroom.

Kendra followed Bonnie back to her room where Katrina and Allison were still bickering about the eyebrow incident.

For a moment, it all made Bonnie wonder if she wanted to get back involved with vampire business. She loved it here and she loved her family, she hated to think about going nearly eighteen years barely knowing them. She had met some of them briefly at Grams' funeral but her dad wasted no time in shipping her off to his sister's for a while afterwards. He wanted her to have nothing to do with that side of the family after the death of her mother. He hadn't even given Joanna a proper chance to introduce herself before he practically dragged her away from her aunt.

But she felt like New Orleans was where she meant to be right now.

XXX

True to her word, Sophie Deveraux was knocking on the Originals' front door a bit before noon. As much as she didn't want to show up and make the Originals deal with their own problems for once, Davina was too big of an issue for her not to show up. The fate of the French Quarter witches depended on Davina coming back and Sophie had made a promise she had no intentions of breaking.

"Shame," Kol pouted when he opened the door for her. "I was hoping to go on a little witch hunt."

Sophie glared at the Original and pushed passed him. "Where is your brother?" she questioned impatiently. "I want to get this over with."

Kol pointed towards the opened double doors on his left where Klaus and Rebekah were waiting. Sophie walked through and took a seat in one of the chairs across from the two other Originals while Kol stood by the door.

"You neglected to tell me a few things when I arrived here, Sophie," Klaus started and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. "Marcel's secret weapon being one of them, how he manages to have complete and total control over all the witches in the Quarter."

"Yeah, your brother told me that you saw Davina," Sophie said and looked to Rebekah.

"Is she a tiny little thing, very cute and very angry with an immense amount of power?" Rebekah listed off things she remembered about the little witch in the untraceable attic.

Sophie slowly nodded her head. "That would be her," she confirmed. "Where did you see her?"

"You see, I can't seem to remember," Rebekah said with raising frustration. "The little brat wiped my memory after she threw me out of a bloody window." Sophie didn't look at all shocked with hearing what Davina did. "Now, our brother is in Davina's possession," Rebekah continued. "And we need to get him back before the little witch does something to him so what we need from you is teeny tiny locator spell."

"I thought you just wanted information on Marcel's inner circle," Sophie said looking between the three Originals, mostly at Kol since he was the one who came to her with the request in the first place and told her nothing of magic.

"We still want that, along with the locator spell to find our brother" Klaus said.

"You know that we can't use magic. Davina will sense it, she'll tell Marcel and I'll end up like my sister and all the others before her that have attempted to use magic," she expressed with frustration. She was tired of explaining this to the three vampires surrounding her.

"How about this," Kol spoke up and drew the witch's attention to him. "You perform the spell or I rip out your throat?"

Sophie stiffened in her seat but still glared defiantly at the vampire. "You rip my throat out if I don't and Marcel rips it out if I do so it seems I lose either way."

Klaus waved off Kol's threat and Sophie's concerns. "You will not get caught," he said to Sophie who arched a doubtful brow at the hybrid.

"It doesn't matter how small the spell is, Davina will sense it and she always knows who is performing it," she argued. "There is no way to not get caught."

"What if another witch was doing a much bigger spell at the same time, hiding your very small locator spell," Rebekah said. "Say, a traitorous witch, one that is in love with a vampire, perhaps?"

The witch stilled and Kol and Rebekah shared a smirk between them. "What are you talking about?"

"Marcel revealed a bit of information to me this morning that I found quite interesting," Klaus took over from Rebekah and leant forward with his elbows on his knees. "It seems that Marcel's most trusted vampire is fraternizing with the enemy. So Sophie, what I would like to know is who is the witch that Thierry is involved with?" Klaus questioned Sophie.

Sophie immediately shook her head. "No," she flat out refused to tell them who the witch was. "No way."

"So you do know who it is?" Rebekah looked at the witch with question.

"Yeah I do and she doesn't deserve to get caught up in whatever it is that you're planning. She's a good person."

"Whether she deserves it or not is beside the point," Kol said. "You want your little witch friend back and safe from Marcel's clutches, don't you?"

"Our intentions do not lie with the witch," Rebekah spoke up. "But rather with Thierry. She will just be unfortunate collateral."

"And it is to my understanding that your sister was caught hiding in a freighter by Thierry which led to her death," Klaus added and Sophie cast her eyes downwards. "Thierry all but handed poor Jane-Anne to Marcel to be publicly executed."

Sophie closed her eyes and took in a breath. She knew what the hybrid was trying to do but she still couldn't help but consider what he was saying. While the last thing Sophie wanted was for harm to come to one of her own, it was Thierry that found her sister and led her to her death and it was Davina who could end all of this once and for all.

"You want your witch back and we want our brother back. You do this one tiny spell for us and we all get what we want."

"But an innocent person dies," Sophie said quietly, regretfully. "And she doesn't deserve that."

"Every war has its casualties, regrettably or not," Klaus replied with apathetic eyes. "You'll do best to learn that now."

The witch remained quiet, ignoring the waiting stares of the vampires in the room. "Her name is Katie," she told them, feeling sick to her stomach. "She owns the _Jardin Gris, _the voodoo shop."

"There," Klaus sent her a grin that did nothing to quell the sickness she was feeling in her stomach. It didn't make it any easier for her to accept her own decision to sacrifice a friend. "Was that so hard?"

Sophie didn't answer him and instead tried to push down the mountain of guilt she felt growing inside of her. She had to do this, she tried to convince herself. Not just for the witch community but for her sister, for her niece.

"So now we are all on the same page?" the hybrid asked and Sophie slowly nodded her head at him. "Excellent," he clapped his hands together once and stood to his feet. "Now, I'm off to see Marcel and voice my concerns of a traitor amongst his ranks," he announced and left the room without another word.

"I will meet you in the cemetery this evening," Rebekah said to Sophie who nodded and got up from the chair.

The brunette said nothing else as she walked out of the room and headed for the front door, desperate for escape.

When Rebekah heard the front door close after Sophie she got to her feet and look at her lingering brother. "For this to all work we will need a distraction for Marcel," she said.

"I snack on the party goers?" he suggested with a mischievous sparkle in his eye.

"I was thinking something a little more subtle," she said to him and her lips turned upwards when a wonderful thought of Marcel's pretty blonde friend popped into her mind.

XXX

Early in the evening, Rebekah's phone started to buzz while she was adding the finishing touches to her outfit for tonight's party. She looked at the name on the screen and smiled. Rebekah walked into her bathroom, closed the door behind her and turned on the tap.

"Hey you," she greeted happily and gave her make up a once over in the mirror. "How far away are you?"

"I should be there soon," Bonnie said. "About ten minutes or so."

"Perfect, Kol and I will be leaving for Marcel's masquerade ball soon," Rebekah said with a smile on her face. "Nik will be waiting for you when you get here and I got you a dress to wear tonight along with a few other things that need to go with it. They're in your room."

Bonnie let out a groan on the other end of the phone. "I have to go to a party with Klaus? You never told me that part."

"You won't have to deal with him for very long, trust me," Rebekah assured her. "Kol and I are about to leave so I will see you later."

"Okay, I'll see you later," Bonnie said before they ended the call.

Rebekah turned off the taps and walked out of the bathroom, leaving her phone on the dresser when she passed it. While Kol was waiting downstairs, Rebekah quickly made her way to the room she had set Bonnie up in and pulled the dress she arranged out of the wardrobe and hung it on the door so she'd see it as soon as she walked it. She retrieved that matching shoes and placed them on the chest that lay at the end of the bed and took out the bracelet and rings from the top draw of the dresser and placed them on top.

On her way downstairs, Rebekah stopped by Niklaus' office and poked her head in. "I've made arrangements for Marcel to be thoroughly distracted tonight," she said and watched as he folded in half what looked to be some type of spell and slid it into an envelope. "What are you doing with that?"

"This is a spell that Marcel keeps locked away and it is what Joshua is going to discover hidden amongst Katie's possessions at the _Jardin Gris_, given to her by Thierry," he told her with a scheming grin and licked the envelope seal. "It'll make Marcel think that perhaps his most trusted friend is thinking of starting a little empire of his own."

"Well, Kol and I are about to leave," she said and lowered her voice. "She will be here soon and please don't aggravate her too much."

"Nonsense, Bonnie and I get along swimmingly," he replied calmly and placed the envelope in his inside jacket pocket.

Rebekah scoffed but smiled when remembered something Bonnie told her on their trip. "Please, she'd rather take a dip in a tank of piranhas. Her words, not mine."

Rebekah left Klaus' office and met Kol at the bottom of the stairs. "Are we waiting for Nik?" He asked, leaned against the bannister with a bored expression.

"No, he will meet us there," she told him and took in his outfit with approval, whilst Nik was dressed in all black; Kol paired his black suit and a deep red dress shirt. "He has a last minute plan to make Marcel start to doubt Thierry's loyalty."

"He's already compelled the nightwalker to attack the witch and provoke Thierry into a confrontation," Kol said and held his arm out for his sister to take. "That will no doubt end with Thierry putting a stake through his heart, breaking one of Marcel's ridiculous rules."

"Never hurts to have a little extra insurance," Rebekah replied and accepted her brother's arm.

XXX

The car stopped outside a large white mansion with five strong columns spanning the length of the porch. It was surrounded by trees and land, very private and peaceful it seemed. The mansion looked like it dated back at least a couple hundred years but it had been well kept.

"This is it," the vampire who Klaus and Rebekah had sent to pick her up announced – Josh she thinks his name was. He seemed like a nice guy but Bonnie could tell from his non-stop nervous chatter the entire drive from the airport that he was a new vampire and had probably been compelled by the hybrid. "Casa de Klaus."

"Thanks," Bonnie gave the vampire a friendly smile and opened the car door. The front door of the mansion opened and he sauntered out in classic Klaus fashion. Their eyes locked and he sent her a devilish smirk.

"How wonderful to see you again, Bonnie," he greeted her, sounding every bit the devil he was. "Thank you, Joshua," he addressed the vampire who was retrieving her two bags from the trunk of the car. "You can go now but remember what I told you."

The new vampire gave Klaus a nervous and quick nod of the head and placed Bonnie's bags by the front door before jumping back into his car.

"One of your compelled lackeys, I gather," Bonnie said to Klaus as she watched Josh drive away. "How many do you have running around town?"

"Two," Klaus answered and led her inside the mansion, stopping to pick up her bags on the way. "But I'm sure the other has become another unfortunate casualty of war by now."

Bonnie rolled her eyes behind the hybrid's back, knowing that he found nothing unfortunate about it.

"There will be time for the tour later but right now we need to get a move on," Klaus said as Bonnie followed him up the stairs and down towards the end of the hall. "I thought you might enjoy a view of the pool," he said when stood aside to let her enter the room first.

"Staying with you Mikaelson's is like staying at a six star hotel," she laughed as she looked around the impressive room.

The room was spacious with a light cappuccino coloured walls with luxurious cream carpet. There were two large windows facing the outside and in-between there was a glass door leading out to a small balcony. A large bed was placed in the middle of the far wall with small bed side tables on either side along with a matching dresser. Across from the balcony there were two doors to which Bonnie assumed would be the walk in wardrobe and the bathroom.

"Rebekah made sure to get you a dress for this evening," Klaus told her and pointed behind her. "Along with whatever you may want to wear with it," he added and motioned towards the dresser, the top of it lined with jewellery.

Bonnie turned around and saw a beautiful electric yellow gown with silver embellished patterns over the bodice hanging on the door of the wardrobe.

"Wow," she looked at the dress in awe and reached up to take a hold of the hanger and brought it down from the door. "It's gorgeous," she said and ran her hand across the fabric of the dress. "Bekah really goes all out, doesn't she?" She looked back to the hybrid. "I'll get dressed and you can tell me what exactly it is that you're planning for this evening," Bonnie said as she headed into the ensuite bathroom Klaus pointed out to her and closed the door behind her

"We have a witch that will be performing a locator spell this evening," he told her as she hung the dress up on the hooks behind the door before she started to shed her clothes. "They want their witch friend back as much as we want Elijah."

"Rebekah told me this witch can sense when they do magic," Bonnie replied and took care removing the dress from the hanger. "Won't she know they are looking for her?"

"We have arranged for another witch to perform some stronger magic at the same time which will conceal Sophie's locator spell," he answered her and she felt a twinge of uneasiness go through her. "She'll never know that we are looking her or our brother."

"Sounds simple enough," she said, trying to ignore the wariness she felt building up inside of her. She wanted to ask what the other witch was doing but she didn't and slipped on the dress.

The dress was gorgeous hanging up but looked even better when she put it on. The dress had a small plunging neckline, stopping half way to her belly button but the cleavage with covered with a skin-toned mesh. The yellow fabric of the dress ceased at the top of her breasts but the silver embellished detail on the light mesh continued over the shoulders of the dress and covered her chest. Looking down, she saw the dress had a train but only a small one.

Above all, the dress fit her perfectly. Bonnie couldn't believe that Rebekah had remembered her size. After giving her hair and make up a quick fix and touch up, she headed out of the bathroom to see Klaus standing by the widow that looked out over the pool, staring out into the night.

"So who is Marcel?" Bonnie asked curiously and walked over to the dresser where Rebekah had placed all the accessories that she stressed needed to go with the dress.

"A vampire I turned many years ago," Klaus said and turned back from the window. "Someone I considered to be family."

Bonnie slipped the bracelet Rebekah left over her hand and looked at Klaus and she certainly did not miss the appreciative glance he cast over her. "I take it that it didn't end well."

"When we fled the city in 1919 I believed him to be dead," he told her and straightened out his suit jacket. "But he wasn't and he stole what we built and claimed it for his own."

"Why'd you guys leave?" she asked and turned back to the mirror to put in the earrings. "Or flee?" she corrected and carefully knelt down in her dress to grab the pair of heels the blonde Original picked out to go with the dress. They were a sparkly grey peep toe pumps with a heel at least six inches tall along with a buckle strap around the ankle.

"Damn," Bonnie expressed as she eyed the heels that hung from her fingers. "Hope I don't break my neck in these."

Klaus chuckled from the other side of the room and watched as Bonnie sat down on the edge of the bed, facing him. "So, you were saying about you all fleeing in 1919?" she reminded him and started with the left shoe first, slipping it on her foot and leaning over to do up the buckle.

"A story for another time, love," he told her and watched with amusement as she struggled to get the right one on.

She cursed with annoyance until she finally managed to get the right shoe on and buckled the strap around the ankle and stood to her feet, a little wobbly at first on the heels but gained her balance. She really was going to break her neck in those things.

"I have to say, this is the quickest I've ever gotten ready for a party," Bonnie commented and gave her ensemble a once over in the full length mirror to make sure everything was in place. "I remember me and Rebekah spending the entire afternoon getting ready for your mother's ball."

"Well," Klaus started to move from the window and towards her. "You look even more beautiful than you did that evening," he complimented and stood a few paces behind her so she could see him in the mirror.

Bonnie gave him a small but appreciative smile through her reflection. The nervousness she had been feeling in the pit of her stomach since the flight had only increased with every passing minute and she knew it was only going to get worse.

"So I guess we should get going then?" she wondered and Klaus nodded with agreement.

"That would be a good idea," he agreed and led her from the room. "Leaving Kol and Marcel in the same place never ends well."

Bonnie's nerves spiked even more at the mention of Kol and she was ready to turn around and head back to the room and Klaus picked up on it.

"No need to be nervous," he told her with a surprisingly comforting voice while he assisted her down the stairs so she didn't fall with the heels on.

"Hard not to be," she admitted to him with uncertainty. "Rebekah's told me a bit of what's been happening and I have no idea how he is going to react to this. I have no idea how _I'm_ going to react to it."

"Kol has started to revert back to his old ways, it's true," he said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "And that doesn't bode well for those around him; he can be careless and reckless. His ways once led our father right to our doorstep," he told her and they walked out the front door to where a sleek black car was waiting to take them to the party.

Bonnie started to chew on her bottom lip when Klaus got into the drivers side. She thought over what the hybrid told her. She always knew that Kol was far from a saint but she never really knew how bad he was or could be and it was something that she really didn't want to know. It was a side of him that he kept away from her as much as he could.

"How many people has he killed since he got here?" she found herself asking before she could stop herself. She realised as soon as the question left her lips that she did not want to know the answer to it.

"Enough," was all he answered with.

"How do you know me being here will help and not just push him over the edge?" Bonnie asked and looked out the window, watching the scenery pass by. "He was very adamant about not wanting me anywhere near here."

"Because he cares what you think about him," Klaus answered her. "What you think of him matters. He won't want you to see him for what he is."

"And then he goes back to his old ways when I leave," she added quietly and without looking at Klaus.

"Hopefully you don't," he said, causing Bonnie to turn her head around to face him. He looked like he wanted to say more but didn't know quite how to word what he wanted to say but Bonnie had a feeling she knew.

"If you are trying to thank me for coming here even after you've been a right royal pain in my ass for the last two years," she said lightly and paired with a smile. "Then you're welcome."

XXX

The party was in full swing by the time Kol and Rebekah had arrived. The compound had been completely remade for the event. The room was illuminated with a soft blue glow, sheer white curtains hung from the arches and red confetti drifted down from the ceiling above. The whole set up left Rebekah impressed.

"I'm bored already," Kol whined and started looking for the bar. "Why did I have to come to this?

"When will you stop being such a misery?" Rebekah questioned her brother and pointed out the bar to him. "And need I remind you that we are not here to enjoy ourselves," she said in a hushed tone when they reached the bar and ordered themselves two scotches.

"I'm not a misery," Kol objected and leant against the bar. "I just fail to see the point of a party where I can't eat the guests."

Rebekah wanted to mention he seemed perfectly fine during the ball their mother held back in Mystic Falls but she didn't because the reason he enjoyed that party would be arriving soon.

"If you behave yourself you might get a taste of Marcel's distraction," Rebekah smirked at him and looked over his shoulder to see the pretty little blonde bartender appear in the crowd, looking every bit the innocent little lamb she was.

Kol looked over to where she was staring and turned back with a laugh. "You certainly are devious, little sister, I'll give you that."

"You have no idea," she smiled at him before wandering over to where Cami was standing, looking very lost. "Cami," Rebekah called her name when she was close enough for the other girl to hear. "I'm glad you decided to come tonight," she said. "You look wonderful."

Kol eyed Marcel up on the balcony, looking down on the bartender and Rebekah. The vampire's gaze moved and he met Kol's who raised his eye brows at Marcel and made it seem like he was moving over to Rebekah and Cami. Kol actually laughed at how quickly Marcel bolted from the balcony and descended down the steps. He approached the two girls, paying Cami more attention than Rebekah who excused herself and made her way back to Kol.

"There," she said quietly when she stopped in front of her brother. "I'd say he's thoroughly distracted." She might have hid her jealously well with the wicked glint in her eyes but Kol could see past it and it made him want to tear Marcel in two.

"Now, now, Bekah, don't be jealous," he teased his sister light heartedly. "We're not here to enjoy ourselves remember."

"Here comes Marcel," Rebekah said and nodded over Kol's shoulder to the approaching vampire.

"Marcellus," Kol turned and greeted the younger vampire with a mocking smirk. "Wonderful party, but I see none of your vampires are in attendance. What a shame."

Marcel disregarded Kol and his comments and addressed Rebekah. "Where is Klaus?" he asked her. "I made it quite clear that I didn't want this one anywhere near here," he said pointing to Kol.

"Rude," Kol uttered and picked up his drink from the bar.

"When we left he was waiting for his date to arrive," Rebekah answered with a twinkle in her eye that wasn't necessarily directed at Marcel. "But he should be here any moment now."

"Good," he said and gave Kol a seething look. "The two of you unsupervised makes me nervous. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Still a little whelp," Kol sighed with mock disappointment before he raised the glass to his lips and watched Marcel return to his human obsession before realising what his sister said. "Does our brother truly have a date?"

Rebekah nodded at her brother, a smile gracing her lips. "He does and I think you'll really like her. Such a sweetheart," she said and reached around her brother to grab her scotch. When she looked back up at her brother, she just knew by the look on his face that they had arrived. He had frozen in his place, eyes fixated firmly behind her with a look of bewilderment and awe that she'd never seen on her brother's face before and one she'd never forget.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Niklaus walking into the party with Bonnie on his arm. "Oh look, here they come now," she said and turned back to Kol who looked down to glare at her. "What?" she asked innocently and turned back around to smile at her friend and brother. She sent a small wave to the witch who in return gave her a nervous smile. "Doesn't she look -," she started to say and turned to Kol only to find that he was no longer there.

**XXX**

**KENNETT! OH SO MUCH KENNETT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! SO MUCH ANGST AND TENSION! OH I LOVE IT!**

**Okay, so the dress Bonnie is wearing can be seen on Kat Graham if you google Kat Graham Prepares for Oscar Weekend. It's the yellow one only with a smaller train. It looks so stunning on her. Hairstyle and accessories are the same as in the pictures, sorry if my description of the dress is off. Also, Fairhaven is a completely made up town near Salem…**

**If you are interested in who I picture the Bennett's to look like, so far I've pictured Jessica Parker Kennedy (Melissa from The Secret Circle) as Katrina and Zendaya Coleman as Allison and Kendra. When I have the rest of them decided, I'll post them to my tumblr :) **

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one ;) and I really hope you guys like the next one! Any mistakes you find in this I apologise for and please leave a review with your thoughts!**

**If you'd like a playlist for the next chapter, I recommend:**

**Magic by Coldplay**

**Wicked Games by RAIGN**

**Raise the Dead by Rachel Rabin**

**Mercy by Hurts**

**Sugar by Wanderhouse**

**XXX**


	3. Call It Magic When I'm Next To You

Nerves were fluttering around manically in Bonnie's stomach and her heart was thumping in her chest as they neared the entrance to the party. Klaus offered her his arm and she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.

"Do you remember the last time we saw each other?" he asked her causing her to glance up at him with a puzzled look.

She nodded slowly, thinking back to their last encounter and almost laughed. "You broke my wrist and I snapped your neck."

"Ah, yes we've had some good times, haven't we?" he chuckled and this time Bonnie did manage to let a laugh escape her.

He had being oddly calming and supportive since she arrived, nothing like she had been expecting him to be and while she was appreciative of his behaviour she certainly wasn't expecting it to stick for very long.

"I guess you could put it that way," she replied as they walked into what Klaus had told her was their old home. "Oh, wow," Bonnie gaped as she looked around the compound completely decked out for the party. She was left amazed by the aerial dancers hanging from silk ribbons and masked dancers with snakes wrapped around them. She had been under the impression that Mystic Falls had extravagant parties, she was wrong. "I'm definitely not in Mystic Falls anymore."

Bonnie wished Caroline was here to see it. Her party loving friend would have loved this…or been jealous by it, probably both. She still remembers the blonde's reaction when she thought Klaus threw a better Homecoming than she did.

Klaus chuckled and patted her hand.

Bonnie spotted Rebekah waving to her from one of the bar stations around the area. She gave the blonde Original a small smile, but that smile quickly faded when she watched Kol walk away from Rebekah. She shook her head at him and let out a sigh.

"I think your brother and I need to talk," she said, letting of Klaus' arm and left the hybrid to follow after Kol, gathering up some of the fabric to her dress in her hand so she didn't trip over it as she went after him.

"I'm getting pretty sick and tired of you walking away from me, Kol," she said, knowing full well that he could hear her loud and clear. She knew he'd be completely tuned into her right now no matter how much he didn't want to be.

She refrained from sighing in relief when he finally stopped with his long strides long enough for her to catch up with him, when she did she noticed they had moved away from all the commotion of the party and to a more secluded area. He turned around and she was taken aback by the glare in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, his tone desperate and angry.

"I…" Bonnie swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She hadn't known how tonight would play out but she certainly wasn't expecting him to be this angry with her being here. "Rebekah asked me to come. She wanted my help with finding Elijah," she explained, her words curt.

"We already have a plan," he snapped at her. "You shouldn't be here."

"Then take it up with your sister," she shot back at him, her voice rising along with her temper. Rebekah had made it sound like Kol had actually missed her. That he was hurting but standing there in front of him made her doubt every word she was told. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. "She's the one who wanted me here tonight," she added, lowering her voice back to normal volume.

"Yeah, I can only imagine why she would want you here," Kol cast a glare over her shoulder in the direction of his siblings. "Klaus obviously had a part to play in this too I imagine. No way would he turn down the opportunity for a powerful little puppet to be at his beck and call."

Bonnie felt a strong urge to fry his brain until it was nothing but ash but she refrained from doing so. "I'm not here for Klaus, I'm clearly here for you, you idiot."

There was a flash of emotion in his eyes but it was gone before she could even recognise what it was. "Well then, you have my permission to leave," he said, voice low and uncaring to match the cold harshness she saw in his eyes. "I don't need you nor do I want you."

Bonnie felt her heart clench and her jaw slackened at his words. She tried to ignore the hurt that hit her like a punch to the gut but she couldn't.

"I…" she started to say something but instead she let out a defeated sigh. "Just forget it," she said and turned around to walk away from him. She had hoped that he'd say something or take her arm or something but he did nothing, just stood there and watched her walk away.

Bonnie headed back into the heart of the party, meeting Rebekah's eyes from a little way away. The blonde sent her an apologetic smile and Bonnie replied with a small shrug, telling her it wasn't her fault. Maybe it was a good thing it went this way. Now all she could do was help them get Elijah back then she'd be back on her way home and never have to see him again.

She pushed some hair back behind her ear and looked around the party, not really sure what she wanted to do now. She mostly just wanted to get out of here but she knew Rebekah and Klaus had a plan that was yet to be executed and she didn't know the way back so she was stuck here for the time being.

"You must be Klaus' date," someone said when they appeared in front of her.

"Date?" Bonnie nearly chocked out and looked up at the handsome stranger blocking her path, wondering who he was but she had a strong feeling she already knew. "No, I'm definitely not his date."

He sent her a smile that was none short of charming and then his eyes went over her shoulder. "I'm Marcel," he introduced himself and Bonnie did her best to remain unaffected by the reveal of his identity.

"Bonnie," she replied and took his outstretched hand, smiling lightly when he raised it to his lips to place a kiss to her knuckles.

She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw Klaus and Rebekah staring intently at them and then to Kol who was no longer where she left him but instead making his way towards them, eyes murderous and trained on the man standing with her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Klaus heading over to them, too.

"You must be important to them to gain a reaction like that," Marcel commented but his eyes were on Kol, as if to say _especially from him_.

Before she could say anything back she felt Kol's hand on her shoulder. She repressed her reaction when she felt his other hand on her arm just below her elbow, gliding down to take her hand in his. She couldn't see his eyes but she knew they were still trained on Marcel.

"No need to cause a scene, Kol," Klaus calmly warned his brother as he joined the three of them.

Bonnie had at least expected Kol to have some sort of retort or insult to shoot at Marcel, or even at Klaus, she hadn't expected him to silently abide Klaus' words. She felt his grip on her shoulder and around her hand tightened and he steered her away from Klaus and Marcel.

"Who is she?" Marcel asked Klaus with keen interest and a hint of amusement as they watched Kol practically drag Bonnie away from them.

"The reason Kol will feed you your own heart if you're not careful," Klaus replied, the unspoken warning to keep away from her clear in his tone.

Marcel scoffed. "From my experience it doesn't take much for your brother to do that anyway."

"You don't know my brother half as well as you think you do, Marcel," Klaus stated, eying his protégé from the corner of his eye. "You asked me to keep him in line," he said and then looked towards where Kol and Bonnie had moved to. "She is how I do that."

XXX

Kol stopped on the other side of the room, near all the dancing couples and turned around to face Bonnie's aggravated glare.

"What the hell was that?" she questioned him, annoyed that he had gone from dismissive and hurtful to protective in a matter of seconds.

"You really shouldn't be here," he told her again, only this time his voice was softer and most of the anger she saw in his eyes earlier had faded and instead were replaced with what Bonnie interpreted as a hint of fear.

She didn't respond and she felt his arm snaked around her waist to pull her closer to him, their bodies not quite touching. He took a hold of her left hand with his right one and she let her free one find its way to his shoulder. They started to sway to the slow music playing in the background.

"I'm sorry," she heard him say softly when he touched his cheek to the top of her head.

"What for?" she asked, wanting him to narrow the pool of things to apologise for since there were now a number of things she wanted him to apologise for.

"For what I said to you back there," he said. "You didn't deserve that and I didn't mean it. Not a word of it."

She made a sound of agreement in the back of her throat. "No, I didn't deserve it and you were a total asshole but I probably shouldn't have blindsided you like that so I guess I'm sorry, too."

"You have nothing to apologise for," he assured her. "But you're right, you were the last person I expected to walk through that door," he admitted, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. "And on Nik's arm, no less. I was caught off guard."

"That was a surprise to me as well," she said with a faint laugh. "But he was tolerable, some might even say decent, so I'll forgive Rebekah for it just this once."

"Your hair looks nice," he complimented her and his hand came up to run through the ends of it softly before returning back to her lower back. "It suits you."

"Felt like I needed a change," she replied, ignoring how nice it felt to have his hands running through her hair. "Cutting it seemed like the easiest and quickest way to achieve that at the time."

Kol twirled her around and gently pulled her back to him, their bodies now pressed together. He wrapped both arms around her, holding her securely against him.

Bonnie slipped her arm under his and curled her arm up his shoulder blades so her hand rest on his shoulder, the other still around his other shoulder and neck. She let her forehead drop to his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting herself breath him in and his presence surround her completely, almost lulling her into a state of bliss.

They were content with the silence that fell over them and for the first time in a long, long while, Bonnie felt completely at ease. She let herself relax and ignore her surroundings, only focusing on Kol.

After three months of nothing, it felt wonderful to be back in his arms.

When Bonnie opened her eyes, she looked over Kol's shoulder and saw Marcel with a few other guys, vampires she assumed, gathered near one of the entrances of the party. They all looked tense and Marcel seemed furious with one of them.

"What's going on there?" she quietly asked Kol while watching Marcel pin one of them to the wall by his throat.

"Our plan," he answered her in a whisper, his lips brushing against her ear causing her grip on his shoulder to tighten slightly.

Her eyes closed when she felt him place a kiss to the skin just below her ear. It had been a small gesture, barely a touch but it had her heart racing, the need to have those lips on hers almost unbearable.

"Do we need to do anything?" she asked him and found herself hoping and praying for some kind of distraction, something to stop her from acting out her need and desires to kiss him.

She felt him shake his head. "It's all taken care of. You don't need to do a thing but we can leave if you'd like," he offered and Bonnie nodded her head.

He slowly pulled away from her, taking all the warmth of his body with him making her want to pull him back to her. One of his hands lowered to take one of hers and start to lead her to the exit that wasn't occupied by Marcel and his vampires. They found Klaus by one of the bars but there was no sign of Rebekah. Kol nodded to his brother and indicated that they were leaving.

XXX

Bonnie settled in on the couch back at the mansion and wasted no time in removing the heels from her feet.

"Can I get you a drink?" Kol offered as he shrugged out of his jacket and threw it over the backs of one of the chairs.

She nodded. "Sure," she said and started to nervously twist her ring around her finger.

Unlike at the party, the silence that fell upon them was unwelcomed, now and during the short trip back and had only made Bonnie's nerves return full force.

"So," she started in an attempt to break the silence surrounding them and pushed some hair behind her ear. "I take it there's some bad blood between you and Marcel," Bonnie said, thinking back to the way the two of them reacted around the other.

"To put it mildly," he replied and handed Bonnie her drink, their fingers just barely brushing each other's. "We've never particularly liked each other."

"Would never have guessed it," she said with a mock seriousness. "Did something happen between the two of you or is it just a case of not liking each other?"

Kol shrugged his shoulders and sat down beside her on the couch. "I didn't have as much to do with him as the rest of my siblings did but there was a time where my brother's chose him over me and left me in a box because of it. Then there was what he did to Bekah which also left her in a box."

"She mentioned that they had a thing," Bonnie said and took a small sip of her drink, coughing slightly at the burning sensation in her throat when she swallowed the liquid causing Kol to smile into his own drink.

"Perhaps I'll make you something a little less strong next time," he teased lightly and revelled in the playful glare he received from her. "But yes, Rebekah and Marcel were once involved for a time. It earned her fifty two years in a coffin."

"I don't think I want to know how many years Klaus has taken from you all," she said and looked down at her drink.

"Over three hundred years from me, a bit less from Rebekah, nine hundred from Finn, and Elijah, well I'm not too sure on the total for him."

Bonnie didn't say anything but she couldn't stop the bitterness from rising. She was annoyed that Kol chose to help Klaus after all he's done to him and his siblings instead of staying with her. She knew that it was selfish of her to think since Klaus was his brother but she couldn't help it.

"I won't lie, one of the reasons I don't want you here is because I don't want you to get caught up in Nik's schemes. I don't want you to get hurt because he's used you to further himself."

What he said to her reminded her of what he said when she first arrived at the party. Even though he had apologised, his words still played through her mind and made her wonder whether or not she should leave.

"Look, If you want me to go, I'll leave as soon as I do the locator spell and Elijah's back," she said and occupied herself with tracing her fingers over the grooves and pattern on the glass tumbler in her hands.

"It's not that I don't want you here," Kol started, his hands itching to reach over and touch her. "I do want you here," he admitted. _I need you here,_ he wanted to add. "But I don't want anything to happen to you, especially not because of me, because of something I have done, someone I have angered."

Bonnie looked up at him. "You mean someone like Marcel?"

He slowly nodded his head and finished off his drink. "I've gone out of my way to provoke him these last few months and now he knows that there is someone he can use against me."

Bonnie sighed and leant forward to place her glass on the table then grabbing Kol's and doing the same. She twisted in her seat so she could face him. "You don't need to protect me," she told him. "And I don't know Marcel but is he really stupid enough to even try to piss you off?"

"He really is that stupid," he replied and reached over to take her hand. "And if he finds out you're a witch…"

She laced their fingers together and shifted closer to him. He placed his other hand on her thigh, his warmth burning through the fabric of her dress and searing her skin.

"Do you remember when you came back to Mystic Falls after the first time you left and I had just started to learn Expression?" she asked him, looking down at their entwined fingers. "I took you down pretty easily," she reminded him and looked up at him with a playful smile. "I'm sure I could handle Marcel if he tried anything."

He leant forward to rest his forehead against hers, his hand moving from her thigh to her jaw. "You have no idea how much I've missed you these last three months," he said to her, his voice barely above a whisper.

Bonnie scraped her teeth over her bottom lip and her fingers dug into his leg. "You're the one who walked away," she reminded him. "It didn't have to be like this."

Her eyes shut when he brushed his lips against hers in a touch barely there. She wanted so badly to kiss him and it took every ounce of will power she had to resist the temptation.

He opened his mouth to say something but the front door opening and slamming shut jolted them both out of their trance. Kol's hand dropped from her face and Bonnie moved back on the couch, putting some safe distance between each other just as Rebekah walked into the room.

"How'd it go?" Kol asked his sister and rose from the couch. "Did you find Elijah?"

Rebekah shook her head and all but threw herself down on one of the chairs across from them. "Katie was killed before Sophie could finish the locator spell. Had she of continued it, Davina would have seen her, Marcel would have moved her and Elijah before we could get to them and he would have had Sophie killed."

"Davina's the one who can sense magic?" Bonnie asked them and Rebekah nodded her head.

"We don't know why or how she is able to as of yet," the blonde said, her tone laced with defeat. "But she has all the witches terrified to use their magic and desperate to get her back."

"There is a lot we don't know about these witches," Kol interjected, fists clenched at his side.

"Is she with Marcel willingly?"

"It seems that way," Rebekah replied. "From what I saw it did, anyway. But like Kol said, there is a lot we don't know and a lot they won't tell us which is why I didn't want Sophie to get herself killed," she said, directing her last comment at Kol. "She's the only one here willing to work with us and she'll tell us what we need to know, I'm sure of it."

"Did he like seduce her or something?" she wondered, knowing that it wasn't unusual for vampires to seduce witches into doing whatever they wanted.

Rebekah gave a small laugh and Kol cracked a smile. "No, definitely not," Rebekah said. "She couldn't be older than sixteen. We don't know why she is so loyal to Marcel but it's something we intend to find out and Sophie will tell us whether she wants to or not."

XXX

Soon enough, Klaus returned and joined them but he wasn't sharing in Rebekah's feelings of defeat of the evenings events.

"Tonight was a bust," she said to Klaus who replied with a smirk before pouring himself a drink.

"Contrary, dear sister, tonight played out brilliantly."

Rebekah furrowed her brow and stared at Klaus with confused while Kol narrowed his eyes.

"Marcel killed Katie before Sophie had a chance to finish the spell," Rebekah told him and sat up straighter in her chair.

"I had no intentions of Sophie completing the spell," Klaus said and the uneasiness Bonnie felt when she first arrived started to flare back up. "It's why I killed Katie myself."

Bonnie glanced at Kol who looked annoyed but not at all surprised to hear what Klaus had done.

Rebekah stood from her seat, shock etched in her eyes. "You what?"

"Katie was too close to killing Marcel and I couldn't have that but by saving his life, I now have Marcel right where I want him," Klaus said, rejoicing in his self-serving victory.

"What about Sophie?" Rebekah questioned. "She trusted you; we all trusted you against our better judgement and you had another plan all along."

"The only side the witches are on is their own," Klaus said, stepping towards his sister. "And they want Davina, a young witch with a mass amount of power and when they get her they will use that power against all of us. They will kill us the moment they get the chance."

"I don't care what the witches want or plan to do," Rebekah snapped and got in Klaus face. "The plan was to find Elijah and bring him home but once again you have failed us."

Bonnie saw a flash of hurt on Klaus face but he quickly covered it with anger at the doubts of his sister. "By saving Marcel from the witch I have cemented his trust and in doing so, he has promised to return Elijah to us," he didn't revel in the shock of his siblings and continued on talking. "And when Marcel has told me everything I wish to know about Davina, I will take her for myself."

Klaus was too busy listening to Rebekah's response and watching his sister storm from the house that he didn't see the look that crossed Bonnie's face upon hearing his plans for the young witch, Davina.

They heard Rebekah slam the front door behind her and Bonnie awkwardly sat there, looking between the two brothers. She could tell from Kol's clenched jaw that he wanted to say something to Klaus but was refraining from doing so, probably due to her presence.

"I'm going to go get changed," she said and excused herself from the tension filled room, brushing her hand against Kol's arm when she passed him. He replied with a small but tense smile.

Kol waited until he could hear Bonnie reach the top of the stairs before he looked to his brother.

"Was this your plan all along?" he asked his brother. "To kill Katie yourself for the sake of gaining Marcel's trust, not to get back our brother like we had discussed, like you had promised?"

"Doesn't matter now," he said and set his now empty glass on top of the fireplace. "We have Bonnie, she'll find Elijah if Marcel goes back on his word to return him to us. Either way, what I did will work in our favour."

"Speaking of Bonnie, you and Rebekah encouraged her to come here and while I know Rebekah will do her part to make sure no harm comes to her, I'm not so sure about you," he said and walked towards his brother. "So know this, if anything happens to her because of you, I will take the dagger you left in my heart for a century and use it to gut you with."

Klaus did his best to remain impassive to his brother's words but Kol could see through him. He was serious with his threats and Klaus knew it. "I assure you, Kol, I have no desire to put her in harm's way."

"I'm sure you'll understand if I choose not to believe you with what happened tonight and all."

"What happened this evening was for the best," Klaus said. "This way I still have Marcel's trust."

"It's not Marcel's trust you should be worrying about, brother," Kol replied and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's ours and after tonight I begin to wonder if it's even possible for us to trust you anymore."

XXX

Bonnie went straight for her purse when she got to her room. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her phone, cringing at the amount of missed calls she had from Lucy. She hadn't yet told her cousin that she was in New Orleans but judging from the large number of missed calls and demanding text messages, Joanna must have told her.

She hit redial before she could talk herself out of it and held her phone to her ear, waiting for her cousin to answer.

"What the hell is this I hear about you being in New Orleans?" Bonnie winced at her cousin's furious and demanding tone. "I thought we agreed no more vampire business."

"I was going to tell you," she said and sat down on the chest at the foot of the bed. "I just didn't want to worry you. I wanted you to enjoy your time away."

She heard Lucy sigh but she knew her concern did nothing to ease her cousin's anger. "You're my family, Bonnie, I'm always going to worry about you," she said. "I don't like the thought of you being there and I don't care what my crazy mother told you, it wasn't a good idea for you to go and not just because of what's happening between the witches and the vampires. I don't want you to get hurt again."

"I'm going to be careful," she assured her cousin, addressing both of Lucy's concerns with her being in New Orleans. "And if you're that worried about me, then maybe when you get back you could join me here?"

It was a suggestion Bonnie didn't realise her cousin would actually take serious. "Considering that I don't trust those Originals with your safety as far as I could throw them, maybe I will. Someone has to look out for you."

"I'm sure Elijah would like to see you again," Bonnie added and a smile started to pull at her lips knowing that her cousin would always have a soft spot for the eldest Mikaelson brother no matter how much she tried to deny it. "He's currently missing with a dagger in his heart but I'm doing a locator spell tomorrow morning to find him."

"I don't think I even want to know what happened there but then again I don't care because I warned him," Lucy said, her annoyance no longer directed at Bonnie but now at Elijah. "I warned him that Klaus would be the death of him but of course he doesn't listen, the stubborn bastard."

"I never realised that you and Elijah were that serious," Bonnie said, her tone conveying her surprise. She knew Lucy and Elijah had some kind of relationship but her cousin had never gone into much detail about the two of them and she had no idea that Lucy had been so concerned with Elijah's blinding loyalty to a brother who clearly did not return it.

"We weren't," she replied a little too quickly for Bonnie to believe her.

"Uh huh," she drawled out, letting Lucy know that she didn't believe her.

"Don't change the topic. I'm still furious with you," Lucy snapped but she only caused Bonnie's smile to grow. "You should have told me you were going."

"So you could have stopped me?"

She heard her cousin sigh. "You being in New Orleans with Kol scares me, Bonnie," she confessed. "I can't shake the feeling that something is going to happen and he's going to hurt you again, whether it is by his hands or someone else's."

"That makes two of you," Bonnie told her and ran her fingers through her hair. "He's worried about the same thing."

"Good to know he has more than two brain cells left," Lucy uttered under her breath. "Still does nothing to ease my concerns."

"Sounds like nothing will," Bonnie said. "But I've decided to spend at least a week here," she told her cousin. "And if after that I don't like being here then I'll be on the first flight back home."

"If after a week you are not back, I'll be coming there," Lucy responded. "No way in hell I'm going to leave you there on your own. I don't care how hard they try to keep you safe; you need family there to have your back."

Bonnie's lips curved up in a smile. "And this has nothing to do with the possibility of seeing Elijah again?"

"Shut up," she playfully snapped, making Bonnie laugh softly. "Call me tomorrow, okay?"

"I will," Bonnie promised her. "And if anything happens I'll let you know."

"Be safe, Bonnie," Lucy said.

"I'll tell Elijah you said hi," Bonnie replied with a smirk.

"I'm just going to hang up," Lucy said but Bonnie could tell she was smiling. "Love you cuz, even though you're a pain in my ass."

Bonnie laughed again. "Love you, too."

"Everything okay?" she heard Kol's voice ask from the doorway.

She looked up and gave him a small smile. "Yeah," she said. "I didn't hear anything crashing down stairs; I take it as a good sign?"

The last time she saw Kol, his relationship with Klaus was practically non-existent. She wondered if it had improved since he followed him here. She hoped it had since she figured the friendlier they were the less likely it'd be that he got a dagger in the heart.

"Everything's fine," he told her. "Just making sure Nik and I are on the same page."

"Can I ask you something?" She asked before he could walk away. He replied with a nod. "This Katie you were talking about before, did she know what she was walking into or was she just another unwitting pawn in Klaus' schemes?"

"We all agreed it was for the best," he told her, refusing to hide his part in the plan, refusing to lie to her. "We needed to conceal Sophie's spell and Katie was in a relationship with one of Marcel's most trusted vampires. Her circumstances fit what we needed."

"The one at the party," she guessed quietly, remembering Marcel throwing a guy against a wall in anger.

"We wanted to paint Thierry as a traitor and of course Katie would try to save him from Marcel's punishment creating the perfect cover for Sophie's spell. Davina wouldn't have seen Sophie and wouldn't have known we were looking for her."

"Did Sophie know?"

"She did. She's the one who told us that Katie was the witch Thierry was involved with."

"She gave up one of her own just like that?" she questioned, a little stunned.

Kol shrugged his shoulders. "It took some convincing but Sophie is smart enough to see the bigger picture." The look on Bonnie's face made Kol sigh and run a hand through his hair. "New Orleans isn't Mystic Falls, Bonnie," he said and Bonnie remembered him saying the same thing the night he left her. "Things will happen that you won't approve of and if you don't want to know then I won't tell you and I'll try to keep you out of it as much as I can but if you do, I'm not going to lie."

Bonnie chewed on the inside of her cheek. She didn't know if she could handle what would be happening here but she also knew that if she wanted to be a part of it then she needed to know all the facts, not just the bits she could cope with.

"I don't want to be lied to."

"We're not going to force you to stay here. Any time you want to leave you can, I won't stop you," he promised her.

"Sorry you didn't get Elijah back tonight," she said just as he turned to walk away. "But hopefully I can find him tomorrow morning."

He gave her a small smile. "If you need anything, I'm just down the hall," he told her and she nodded just before he walked off towards his room.

Bonnie waited a few minutes (hearing the door to his room down the hall close) before she got up off the chest and walked over to the dresser, removing all the bits of jewellery she wore and carefully placed them back in the box onto of the dresser. She took off the dress and put it back on the hanger before tucking it away in the wardrobe. She pulled out some sleep shorts and a tank from her bag and decided to leave the unpacking until tomorrow. She got dressed in the bathroom and removed all the makeup she had put on for the party.

All the while she couldn't rid Kol from her head. It wasn't anything he had told her tonight but just simple desire that had been building inside of her since the moment she laid eyes on him at the party. It had gone into overdrive when they returned to the mansion and she was both thankful and disappointed for Rebekah's interruption downstairs. A few more minutes and she would have kissed him and who knows after that.

She tried to ignore it as she crawled into the comfortable bed, tried to push it deeper down but it was an itch that refused to go away until tended to but Bonnie was as stubborn as the itch persistent.

At least for a short while anyway.

Bonnie managed to lie in the bed for five full tortuous minutes before she snapped and shot up and left her room, heading straight to where Kol had directed her. She let herself into Kol's room without knocking and she took the time to notice that his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his bare chest and torso. Had it not been for the desperate need for him she could no longer contain she probably would have let herself admired the view a bit longer.

He didn't say anything as she approached him, just eyed her with curiosity and lust. He didn't resist when she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him down, crashing their lips together in a desperate and long overdue kiss.

His response was immediate and enthusiastic as he took her by the hips and pulled her flush against his body. He buried a hand in her hair and pushed his tongue between her lips, relishing in her sweet moan.

Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck and shoulders, holding him as tight as she could as their tongues danced.

It was almost impossible for Bonnie to pull herself away from him, even when oxygen was dire. She managed to pull back and her fingers dug into his shoulders when she felt his lips trail along her jaw. She gasped when he nipped the skin between her ear and jaw. Her head fell back when his hand slid under the back of her shirt, giving him perfect access to her neck and throat and he took full advantage of the exposure, nipping her skin and soothing the bite with kisses that had her trembling in his arms.

She lifted her head back upright and brought his lips to hers once again, biting down on his bottom lip a little harsher than she had intended but that had only seemed to encourage him more as he spun them around and had her back against the wall in less than a second.

His hand cupped the side of her face and deepened the kiss more. One of her legs hooked around his waist and his other hand dropped to grip it and hold it tight. She moaned into his mouth when she felt his hardness against her core through her thin sleep shorts.

Kol was the one to pull back this time but he didn't move away from her, just pressed his forehead against her. He would have loved to continue what they were doing, would have loved to move her over to his bed, rid her of her clothes and spend the rest of the night and the entirety of tomorrow making up for the three long months of lost time between them. But he knew that's not what she came in for.

He watched her start to come to her senses through her lust filled haze and knew any minute she'd probably start apologising and he didn't want that so he placed a chaste kiss to her lips and gave her a smile so soft and gentle it nearly made her melt.

"Sweet dreams, beautiful."

**XXX**

**Was there enough Kennett here for you? ;) They weren't meant to kiss at the end but what the hell, right? I felt like they needed to but the tension and the angst won't end here because I love it too much.**

**Thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it and I'm happy you're enjoying it! Some of you mentioned the Klaus/Bonnie scenes and I'm glad you enjoyed those because aside from Kennett, that's the relationship I'm most looking forward to delving into (non-romantically of course). They are going to have a roller coaster of a relationship!**

**And if you're wondering (or even hoping) if Sophie and Bonnie will meet the answer is HELL YES! I'm actually wondering if I should take the route of the show with her character circa episode 13 (if you've seen the Original's you'll know what I'm taking about) or not. I don't really want to because I like her so what do you guys think? **

**Also, just to let you know that I've decided to take a two week break from uploading just so I can get two or three more chapters done in advanced so I don't have to worry about missing my one week goal since some chapters come easier to write than others. I might end up uploading next week but if I don't I just thought I'd give you guys a heads up. Hopefully the Kennett in this chapter will make up for it if I don't :) Next chapter Bonnie and Rebekah will have an actual reunion/catch up**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, any mistakes you find in this I apologise for (only a rough edit so there's probably a lot) and please let me know what you think!**

**XXX**


End file.
